...Gert Weakens To A Tropical Storm...Approaching The Avalon Peninsula Of Newfoundland...

Storm and hurricane force wind warnings remain in effect for portions of the maritime areas south and east of Newfoundland. See statements from the Canadian Hurricane Center for further information.

At 5 am ast...0900z...the poorly-defined center of tropical storm Gert was located near latitude 45.7 north...longitude 53.6 west or about 135 miles...220 km...south-southwest of St. Johns Newfoundland.

Gert is moving toward the north-northeast near 28 mph...44 km/hr... And this motion is expected to continue today. On this track Gert will pass just to the east of the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland during the next few hours.

Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph...110 km/hr...with higher gusts. Gert is losing its tropical characteristics and will become extratropical later today.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 230 miles ...370 km...mainly east of the center.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 967 mb...28.56 inches.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
Hurricane Gert formed on September 11th as a tropical depression in the far eastern tropical Atlantic ocean. Moving to the west-northwest...it became a tropical storm on the 12th and a hurricane on the 13th. Gert strengthened to a 150-mph hurricane on the 16th while located about 575 miles east of the Leeward Islands. While beginning a gradual weakening process...Gert recurved northward over the next several days as it moved across the central north Atlantic.

The center passed about 130 miles east of Bermuda on the 21st...and Bermuda briefly reported 75-80 mph sustained wind speeds. Gert moved to near southeastern Newfoundland on the 23rd...where gale-force winds were experienced...and then became extratropical.

The ER-2 Doppler radar provides a dramatic cross-section view of Hurricane
Georges' eye over Hispaniola. The Dominican Republic received heavy rain
during this pass, as seen in the radar image at top, and subsequent rain
eventually caused significant loss of life. The rain was enhanced significantly
by the mountainsCross Sectionin the interior of the island. The mountains
are about 2.7 km high (9000 ft) and produced what appears to be a huge
thunderstorm over the mountains as shown in the blue - upward rising -
moisture in the lower image. Significant research will be done to understand
this very complicated interaction between Hurricane Georges and the mountains.
Credit: NASA.

The most destructive part of a hurricane is usually
the storm surge. The surge effect is due to the winds of the hurricane
pushing up a "dome" of water in front of the hurricane. As this surge of
water hits the coastal area tides may be several tens of feet higher than
normal. This wall of water works it's way up rivers to cause damage far
inland. The rise in water level happens at the same time as the heavy rains
associated with hurricanes. The fall of ten inches or more of rain during
the hurricane is not unusual. The tidal surge and the rainfall combine
to cause flooding. The
damage caused by the flooding of property is the largest cost to property
owners due to hurricanes. Wind damages bring about the second highest cost,
due to the physical power of the hurricane. The costs due to the hurricane
just start with the physical damage caused by the hurricane. The general
disturbance of every day life activities in any area impacted by disaster
bring about costs due to business operations being disrupted. The ability
of people to work may be limited due to the shortages of the essential
requirements for life, for the need to find replacement housing, for the
care of family members injured or traumatized
by
the disaster, and for the shortage of materials essential for work. There
is some delay between the disaster and the availability of funding to begin
repairs. Many business within a disaster area do not reopen, because
insurance
may be lacking to pay for the needed repairs, and even if
insurance or loans are available, they may not be enough to cover the
required repairs. Damage to essential data stored in computer systems may
make restarting an existing business difficult. And any disruption in a
business will cause an existing business' clients to seek other suppliers,
so that when the business reopens it may find itself with out it's previous
patrons. Hurricanes
are one disaster in which it is possible to have several days warning prior
to the hurricanes arrival. As the arrival of the hurricane can be to some
extent predicted, it is important to begin preparations
for the hurricane as soon as we have information that it may land in a
location near us. Because we can not know exactly where the hurricane will
hit, it is important to listen to the local weather
authorities. Local weather authorities will issue warnings and announce
evacuations. Given a large scale disaster your family may be cut off from
any assistance for three days. Every family should have on hand a supply
of food, water, personal and medical supplies to last at least 3 days.
In any disaster situation it is possible that utilities will not be functioning.
For this reason, you should keep on hand a supply of cash and a full tank
of fuel in any vehicle. If we live in an area that has a history hurricanes,
we can and should begin our preparations
for
hurricanes long before we receive any notification. Consult local building
authorities about any improvements that may be made to your house
to
lesson the likelihood of damage to the structure. The biggest factor in
determining the likelihood of your properties ability to withstand damage
due to winds is the date of its construction. In recent years building
codes have been upgraded. As a general rule, the older the property the
more likely it is to sustain damage in a disaster. Walk around the outside
of your property. Inspect the trees and landscaping for objects likely
to fall or to be blown away by the winds associated with a hurricane. Consider
purchasing storm shutters or pre-purchasing the supplies needed to protect
windows from storm damage. Since water damage is
the biggest cause of property damage in a disaster you should examine the
possibly of purchasing flood insurance. Just because you are outside of
the recognized flood zones does
not mean your home will not be flooded. The cost of reparing
damage due to flooding is not normally covered by most home
owners policies, but is the biggest single cause of property damage.

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